Blueberry Crisp

Michigan blueberry picking is excellent this July. I spent two weekends in a row stocking up on the delicious berries. Try this easy blueberry crisp recipe as an alternative to pie. It refrigerates well so you can enjoy it all week long!

Ingredients:

• 4 cups fresh blueberrie
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 T corn starch
• 2 t lemon juice
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 t cinnamon
• 3/4 cup quick cooking rolled oats
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 stick softened butter (4 T)

Preparation:

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a bowl combine the blueberries, sugar, corn starch, and lemon juice. Mix well and pour into a lightly buttered baking dish.
3. In the same bowl combine the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, oats, salt, and butter. Stir with a fork until the mixture is crumbly and evenly blended. Spread the mixture over the berries and bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes. Cool before serving.

 
 From American Food on About.com
 
 

Mustard Glazed Salmon

I recently bought a jar of fancy mustard and was looking for ways to use my new culinary find, other than on hot dogs of course! I decided to make mustard glazed salmon and was pleasantly surprised at how well salmon and mustard go together. It is a nice change from my usual citrusy, sweet sauces. Give it a shot! I served it with a little greek yogurt as a healthy alternative to tartar sauce.

Ingredients
1 lb salmon
2 T olive oil
¼ cup mustard

Directions
1. Heat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Link a baking sheet with foil. Rinse salmon with water, then place on foil and rub with olive oil.
3. Brush mustard on top of the salmon, covering the whole piece.
4. Bake for about 15 minutes.

Peanut Butter Cookies

We all love chocolate chip cookies, and some of us have a sweet spot for oatmeal raisin, but peanut butter cookies are often forgotten. I realized I couldn’t remember the last time I had a peanut butter cookie. I decided to make a fresh batch, but there were not very many recipes out there. The last one I used came with my “Give a Mouse a Cookie” book and involved simply mixing peanut butter with sugar and egg. This might be fun for kids, but I wanted something a little more substantial.
The recipe below is perfect. I made 24 cookies and they all turned out perfectly with crispy edges and chewy middles. The great thing about making these is that you probably already have all of the ingredients!

 Ingredients
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup peanut butter (I like Simply Jif)
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1-1/4 cups flour
• 1/4 t salt
• ½ t baking soda

 Directions
1. Cream together butter, peanut butter and sugars. Beat in eggs.
2. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir into batter. Put batter in refrigerator for 1 hour.
3. While the dough is in the fridge, heat the oven to 375 degrees.
4. Roll into 1 inch balls and put on prepared baking sheets. Flatten each ball with a fork, making a criss-cross pattern. Bake for 10 minutes or until cookies begin to brown.

Tweaked from AllRecipes

Veggie Flatbread

This is a really easy dinner to make, perfect for a summer night you don't want to spend in front of the hot stove. Seasonal vegetables topped with olive oil are delicious and healthy. I found one flat bread to be plenty filling, but big eaters might want two.

Ingredients

1 medium eggplant
1 red bell pepper
1 yellow summer squash
3 T olive oil
2 T fresh ground pepper
1/2 cup mozzarella (optional)
2-4 flat breads (Italian Herb is the best!)

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Slice the eggplant and squash into 1/4 inch rounds,slice the red pepper into strips.
Prepare a baking sheet with foil and cooking spray. Arrange the vegetables on the sheet.
Drizzle olive oil on top of the veggies. Sprinkle ground pepper.
Bake for 25 minutes. If you want a little cheese, sprinkle it on top and place back in the oven for about 2 more minutes.
Heat flat bread in the microwave for 15 seconds. Serve veggies on top.

Veggie and Tofu Stir Fry

This ingredient list might look daunting because I like a lot of variety in my stir fry. This recipe combines four of my favorite vegetables, but of course you can always leave some out if you’re short on ingredients. I put this together in under an hour and ended up with plenty of leftovers. It definitely beats microwave stir-fry mix!

Veggie Stir Fry with Tofu

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 T lemon juice

2 T vegetable oil

1 t garlic powder

7 ounces firm tofu, cut into ½ inch thick slices

1 T grated fresh ginger

1 T minced garlic

2 cups broccoli florets

1 red bell pepper, cut into strips

1 large carrot, cut into rounds

1 small zucchini, sliced

½ cup white rice

·         Pour the soy sauce and lemon juice in a large bowl, add the garlic powder and blend. Place the tofu slabs in the bowl and marinate for 5 minutes.

·         While the tofu marinates, slice the broccoli, bell pepper, carrot and zucchini. Place in separate bowl.

·         Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and cook the tofu, reserving the marinade. Cook for about 4 minutes until brown on each side, then transfer to a cutting board and cut into cubes. Return the tofu to the marinade bowl.

·         Cook the white rice according to directions.

·         While the rice cooks, heat the vegetable oil in the skillet over medium-high heat. Add the fresh ginger and minced garlic and cook, stirring constantly until fragrant.

·         Add the broccoli, bell pepper, carrot and zucchini to the skillet and stir fry until the vegetables begin to soften, about 4 minutes.

·         Cover the skillet and cook until the veggies are crisp-tender, about 2 to 4 minutes.

·         When the veggies are done, add them to the bowl with tofu and stir to combine.

·         Serve over rice.

Udon Noodles with Tofu and Greens

I wasn’t able to blog last week because I spent the whole week away from my kitchen (my apartment was under repair). After so much eating out, I was craving simplicity. This Asian dish is a no-frills vegan dinner, and it’s ready in 30 minutes! The only tough part was finding udon noodles at the supermarket. Kroger had them, but they were pricey (about $4). I suggest checking an Asian market for better prices.

Ingredients

• 1 8-ounce package udon noodles
• 4 T vegetable oil
• 1 12-ounce package firm tofu, cubed
• Salt and pepper
• 1 package baby spinach
• 1 bunch green onions, sliced
• 1 T red pepper flakes
• ¼ cup peanuts
• 3 T soy sauce
• Pinch of sugar

Directions

1.      Cook the udon noodles for 4 minutes in rapidly boiling water. Drain, reserving 1/3 cup of the cooking water.

2.      Meanwhile, heat 2 T oil in a medium skillet over medium heat.

3.      Pat the tofu dry and season with salt and pepper. Cube it and add to the skillet. Sear until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Set aside and keep warm.

4.      Add 1 T oil and the greens to the skillet. Cook, tossing, until just wilted.

5.      Add the green onions, red pepper flakes, the remaining 1 T oil, the soy sauce, peanuts and sugar.

6.      Add the reserved cooking water; heat to create a broth. Place the noodles in the broth and heat through. Serve topped with tofu.

Inspired by Food Network

Hawaiian Chicken

This recipe comes from a book some friends loaned my boyfriend in college. It was one of the first dishes he cooked when he got a kitchen (yay no more cafeteria food). We had both forgotten about it until recently, and now I wonder why we ever stopped making this once a week! It is so sweet, juicy and easy.

Ingredients

2 T vegetable oil

1 t paprika

1/2 cup flour

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 can pineapple chunks in juice

2 T brown sugar

4 fresh basil leaves, chopped or 1 t dried

1 t ground nutmeg

1 cup cooked white rice

Directions

1.      Heat the oil over medium heat in a large skillet

2.      Combine the paprika and flour in a medium-sized bowl

3.      Lightly coat the chicken in the flour

4.      Sauté the floured chicken, stirring and turning occasionally, until golden brown on     all sides, about 10 minutes

5.      Drain the pineapple juice into a medium bowl. Mix with brown sugar, basil and nutmeg.

6.      Add the juice mixture to the chicken in the skillet and stir

7.      Cover and reduce the heat to low; simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the chicken is white in the center

8.      Add the pineapple chunks and continue to simmer another five minutes. Serve chicken over rice with all the skillet juices.